How to Propagate Canna Lily Tropicana

By Barbara Fahs; Updated September 21, 2017

The Canna Tropicana is many people’s favorite canna lily because of its beautiful multi-colored foliage and stunning orange flowers. Although cannas are called lilies, they belong to a different plant family, Cannaceae. Cannas do well in containers or in the ground and prefer full sun and moist conditions. You can propagate the Tropicana variety by dividing the tubers in fall or by collecting seeds at the end of their blooming season.

Starting Tropicana From Seed

Collect seeds from your Canna Tropicana in fall or late summer, when they stop blooming and have formed seeds. Wipe off any plant material and allow seeds to dry for one week in a dry, dark, well-ventilated area.

Rub each seed with sandpaper to scarify them and promote germination. Don’t sand off too much of the seed—just down to the beginning of the white interior.

Soak seeds in warm water for two days.

Plant seeds ½ inch deep in pots or flats with standard potting soil and then keep them in an area with full sun that is protected from cold temperatures. Keep the soil moist.

Transplant young cannas to your garden in spring, after the final projected frost.

Starting Tropicana by Dividing Tubers

Dig your canna in fall after it has stopped blooming—it can contain several tuberous clumps, which you can then pull apart. Make sure each piece has at least one “eye,” because that is necessary for the clump to grow.

Plant each clump in a 4-inch pot, using standard potting soil. Then cover your pots with a sheet of glass. Remove the glass to water your tubers every other day and then remove it after seedlings sprout.

Transplant your young Tropicana plants to the garden after your final spring frost. Plant them 5 inches deep and about 1 foot apart.

Things You Will Need

Sandpaper

Rich, well drained soil

Nursery pots or flats

Potting soil

Shovel

4-inch pots

Sheet of glass

Tip

Do not use old tubers because they will not grow: select only firm tubers with strong shoots.

References

About the Author

Barbara Fahs lives on Hawaii island, where she has created Hi'iaka's Healing Herb Garden. Fahs wrote "Super Simple Guide to Creating Hawaiian Gardens" and has been a professional writer since 1984. She contributes to "Big Island Weekly," "Ke Ola" magazine and various websites. She earned her Bachelor of Arts at University of California, Santa Barbara and her Master of Arts from San Jose State University.